The New York Rangers have one foot in the Eastern Conference Final after squeaking out a monumental Game 3 overtime win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Thursday night.
Artemi Panarin was the heartbreaker, scoring his fourth game-winning goal of the playoffs on a slick re-direct from Vincent Trocheck to give NY a 3-2 victory in the game — and a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.
But it was Igor Shesterkin who was again the backbone, standing tall with 45 saves on 47 shots in the triumph. He's the first goaltender in Rangers franchise history to record 45 saves in back-to-back playoff games, per Sportsnet Stats. He made 54 in Game 2.
Along with his team, the Russian star also won his seventh consecutive postseason contest, which tied Mike Richter for the longest in New York's storied history. That came exactly three decades ago, the same year the Rangers went on to win the 1994 Stanley Cup.
Shesterkin is just two wins away from tying Grant Fuhr's all-time record of nine, which was set with the Edmonton Oilers back in 1985. In 2024, the Rangers are looking like the class of the Eastern Conference, and they have the Hurricanes on the ropes.
Rangers looking unstoppable after capturing Game 3
It's heartbreak for Carolina, who brought in Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov at the deadline to try to finally get over the hump that is the Eastern Conference Final. It doesn't even look like the team is going to get a chance after Panarin scored the dagger in Game 3 — and maybe the series.
“Just so happy,” the superstar said after helping put New York on the verge of a second consecutive series sweep, per NHL.com's Dan Rosen. “It was a lot of emotion. I can't really explain to you. I guess I don't really understand what happened. I need 10 more minutes. Obviously, it's nice to see the puck go in the net.”
Chris Kreider erased a 1-0 Hurricanes lead with a nice shorthanded goal in the second period before Alexis Lafreniere gave the Blueshirts a 2-1 advantage early in the third period. Andrei Svechnikov was able to get a rare one by Shesterkin in the final two minutes of regulation to knot things up, forcing an absolutely monumental overtime. That was basically Carolina's season.
You aren't in trouble until you lose at home, and the Canes have now lost at home — and twice on the road. It's going to take a miracle at this point to take the Metropolitan Division crown, and that's especially true the way Shesterkin is playing.
“They come out hot in their building and they sent a few flurries at us and ‘Shesty' just keeps kicking,” said Trocheck, who was again instrumental with two assists, of his goaltender. “I think we expect it at this point. Obviously, we don't want to rely on him too much but when you have him back there, he makes a really big difference in the game.”
Shesterkin is up to a 2.01 goals-against average and .935 save percentage in seven postseason games. He's locked in, New York's offense is electric, and this team looks ready to play for the Stanley Cup.
Game 4 — and a chance for the Rangers to eliminate the Hurricanes again — is set for Saturday night from PNC Arena in Raleigh.
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